What a difference 14 years makes.
The last really big snow we had around here was in 1996. I was single, owned a town house, worked very happily as a teacher, and had recently broken up with my boyfriend. A guy named Dave. I think you might know him.
Actually, (sniff, sniff) he had recently broken up with me. Over the phone.
But that’s another story.
Anyway, I knew the storm was coming (though I didn’t realize at the time quite how huge it would be), so I stocked up on the essentials. I remember buying dried apricots, a bag of Twizzlers, microwave popcorn, Diet Coke and a few other things. No bread, no milk. I ate yogurt for breakfast, salad for lunch, and Lean Cuisines for supper, so those items were probably in my cart too. I rented Apollo 13 (the Tom Hanks movie).
And then I watched the snow fall. Oh, did it fall. It fell, and blew and fell, and fell and blew some more. School was cancelled for an entire week. No one was allowed on the roads for days. And I slowly went crazy.
I watched Apollo 13 many, many times. I read and read and read. I did exercise videos (Jane Fonda step aerobics, baby!) 3-4 times each day, mainly because they made time go faster. One day I couldn’t stand it anymore and I walked a mile and a half to the closest mall. In 3 feet of snow and slush. I got there, walked around, had myself a soft pretzel and trudged on home. That was so worth it. Killed an entire afternoon.
I shoveled a lot of snow. All I had was my short, little driveway and a small stretch of sidewalk, but I worked on it for hours. And the snow on either side of the driveway was piled 6 feet high by the time I was finished.
My friend and fellow teacher, Kim and I, spent hours on the phone with each other. She had recently gotten engaged, and I had recently, well, not gotten engaged so we had a lot to discuss.
Kim: “So I’m thinking the bridesmaids dresses will be periwinkle blue and...”
Me: “Why? I just don’t get it! What is he thinking!?”
Kim: “He’s a bastard. And also confused. And I was thinking the bridesmaids can all carry little nosegays of roses.”
Me: “I love it. What about shoes? Do you want them dyed to match? Seriously! We could be having so much fun together this week. I wonder if he misses me?”
Kim: “He totally misses you. I know he does. He’s going to get back with you, I know it. Yes, definitely dyed to match, and…”
We spent so many hours on the phone, we ran out of things to say to each other, and, I remember this clearly, began talking to each other in our version of a Cowgirl dialect.
Kim: “I hope the snowplows mosey along here soon.”
Beth: “Yee-haw! If they don’t I’m gonna be testier than a rattlesnake in a roller rink!”
Oh, we were bored.
Fast-forward 14 years. This time, my grocery store stock up included bread, milk, and items for sensible lunches and dinners (though still Diet Coke). Our Netflix movie Up arrived just in time. I’ve gotten ample exercise from putting on and removing the children’s snow gear instead of doing those Jane Fonda videos. We've read lots of picture books (I only got to read my own selections at bedtime, as usual), and played lots of games.
And I’ve been able to spend plenty of time with my Dave, who was, thankfully, not still broken up with me or even stranded in another city. And no cowboy dialect this time, although I have talked babytalk to the guinea pig, but that’s totally different, as I do it out of love, not boredom.
I shoveled for about 10 minutes. Between Dave's strong arms (have you seen his forearms?) and the use of a generous neighbor's snowblower, that's about the total time I put into it.
The kids are starting to bicker and I’m definitely ready for them to go back to school, and a little piece of me really does miss BETH TIME-ALL THE TIME.
But hoooo-whee! I sure ain’t complainin’, pardners.
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3 comments:
Great post, you are so funny! I remember that storm too! I was married to a Dave though, and certainly not the same Dave as mentioned above!! We lived over in Rockledge and my Dave had to go out the 2nd story window to get out of the house! Cool huh! Have no idea what we did for food though? Or what we did to pass the time!!
Oh Beth! I remember that snowstorm clearly, too! At the time, I had myself convinced that I was the ONLY person on the face of the earth who was alone and lonely. Guess I was wrong! Glad that we both are no longer lonely or alone :)
I lived in Harrisburg with two roommates and Dave ended up snowed in with us (kidding ... MATT). For 3 days. We played cards until there were nasty squabbles between the serious and non-serous players and no one was speaking to each other -- Matt and I were not on the same side. We all also fought over shoveling, which was just ridiculous in the apartment complex with nowhere to shovel to. Good times. Outback Steakhouse was about a mile away, and we finally busted out to get here the second it opened. It was scary driving but worth every beer.
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